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Sources familiar with the probe told TheCable that the properties include three luxury villas and multiple apartments located in upscale districts in Cairo.
The Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) has reportedly traced several luxury real estate assets in Egypt to former Kaduna State Governor, Nasir El-Rufai, as investigations into alleged corruption during his tenure deepen.According to TheCable, investigators discovered at least six high-value properties linked to El-Rufai in Cairo, Egypt’s capital city.
Sources familiar with the probe told TheCable that the properties include three luxury villas and multiple apartments located in upscale districts in Cairo.
TheCable reported that the villas are situated in Arabella Estate and Banafsik Estate, both located in New Cairo, areas known for high-end residential developments. Market checks indicate that villas in those estates typically sell for between $1 million and $1.3 million each.
In addition, several apartments allegedly linked to the former governor were traced to Cairo Festival City, where individual units are valued at approximately $500,000 each.
Sources privy to the investigation said the properties were allegedly acquired between 2021 and 2023, a period when El-Rufai was serving his second term as governor of Kaduna State.
The discovery has drawn renewed scrutiny because the former governor had previously claimed publicly that he owned only a single house.
In a 2023 Hausa interview, El-Rufai had dismissed allegations that he amassed properties during his time in office.
According to Daily Trust, he said: “We aren’t like such people. I became the Governor of Kaduna State with only one house located at Danja Street in Unguwan Sarki, Kaduna.
“I have completed my tenure, Alhamdulillah… that is my only house. I don’t have any other house. I didn’t build a mansion. I don’t even need it.”
The ICPC is currently investigating El-Rufai over alleged financial impropriety during his eight-year tenure as Kaduna governor between 2015 and 2023.
SaharaReporters gathered that the former Minister of the Federal Capital Territory has been in the custody of the anti-corruption agency since February 18.
During the probe, ICPC operatives reportedly raided his Abuja residence on February 19, where wire-tapping equipment was allegedly discovered.
Before his detention by the commission, El-Rufai had also been grilled by the Department of State Services (DSS) over allegations that the telephone of Nigeria’s National Security Adviser, Nuhu Ribadu, was tapped.
The DSS later filed a three-count charge against him for allegedly intercepting the NSA’s telephone conversation.
He had earlier spent two nights at the headquarters of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) after arriving in Nigeria from Cairo on February 12.
The investigations stem partly from findings by the Kaduna State House of Assembly, which in 2024 indicted El-Rufai over the alleged diversion of N423 billion in public funds and suspected money laundering.
The lawmakers subsequently urged anti-graft agencies to investigate the former governor.
Meanwhile, El-Rufai’s legal team has accused the ICPC of abusing the legal process in its continued detention of their client.
In a formal protest letter addressed to the ICPC chairman, El-Rufai’s lead counsel, Ubong Akpan, described the commission’s actions as an “absolute disgrace” to the legal profession.
Akpan alleged that the anti-corruption agency secured a 14-day remand order on February 19, 2026 through what he described as “fraudulent representations” and has since failed to charge the former governor before a court of competent jurisdiction.
The lawyer also accused the commission of “forum shopping”, arguing that it approached a Magistrate Court in Bwari on allegations of money laundering, which he said fall under the exclusive jurisdiction of the Federal High Court.
“What we have witnessed from the Commission over the past 15 days is nothing short of an absolute disgrace to the practice of law… that would shame any law enforcement agency in any civilised jurisdiction,” Akpan said in the letter.
He further alleged that the original remand order was never served on El-Rufai or his legal representatives, describing it as a violation of his constitutional right to fair hearing.
According to him, the commission also attempted to renew what he called a “void order” before a court lacking jurisdiction after the initial remand period expired on March 4, 2026.
Akpan warned that the continued detention of the former governor without charges violates Section 35 of the Nigerian Constitution, which protects citizens from unlawful detention.
“Every hour El-Rufai remains in your custody is a separate and distinct tort of false imprisonment,” he warned, adding that the ICPC chairman could be held personally liable.
The legal team is demanding El-Rufai’s immediate release, a public apology in three national newspapers, and N2 billion in damages.
Akpan also threatened to petition the Legal Practitioners Disciplinary Committee against lawyers working with the ICPC who allegedly participated in the process, while also signalling plans to report the matter to the Attorney-General of the Federation and the Inspector-General of Police for further investigation.
SOURCE: SAHARA REPORTERS
